Like so many other states, Missouri will begin budget cuts.

While the budget cuts will start at some of the state’s social services programs, the Tour of Missouri, a bike tour that starts Sept. 7,  will be safe. According to the Post-Dispatch the bike tour costs $1.5 million, a fraction of the $60 million in cuts that Nixon is studying.

The Post-Dispatch also reported that $475,000 will be cut from domestic violence programs and $2.25 million from Health Care centers for low income families.

The Missouri Water Patrol, for instance, faces the possibility of scaling back patrols on some of the state’s rivers and…

In these tough economic times, a pro-marijuana group is taking advantage of an opportunity to try and legalize marijuana in California once again. The group will launch a television ad claiming that taxing the drug could help solve the state’s budget problem.

With California’s state legislature eager to close a $26.3 billion budget deficit, the offer may be tempting.

The 30-second spot, airing Wednesday and paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project, features a retired 58-year-old state worker who says state leaders “are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes.”

“We’re marijuana consumers,” says Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks, who says…